Would you find it less personal if...

I don't think it necessarily is 'less personal'. All of my dolls are based on anime characters... but MY take on those characters. Also, sometimes they surprise you... I never would have expected Momiji to be such a brat at times. ^_~

 

I'd definitely find it less personal. And if I grew out of the fandom the doll was based on, I would completely lose connection for it. Its identity would be focused on the series, not the doll itself.

However, I'd love to find a doll who could cosplay as my favorite characters, while still being a unique character themselves.

 

I don't find it less personal at all. You make a character doll because you like the character. My character doll is based on a character. I am very attached to said character, and have been for over five years, and I don't see myself becoming unattached anytime soon XD. And I know that I'd never want to get rid of him. I spent all that money and time on him, just like someone would have with their original character. Just because I didn't come up with the character doesn't mean he's any less special to me, then everyone's original characters are to them. Some people don't create original characters, and in their place they put all there fondness, and love that would have gone into that original character, into an already existing one.

Then again though I don't see my dolls as children(more like friends, kinda hard to call dolls in their 20's your kids when you are only 19 XD), and I can see how some people see the other-side about it being "less personal", but when someone creates a character doll, they really do have a special attachment to it, it's not a willy-nilly thing. I'm sure we all love and care for our dolls the same, no matter if they are original or not.

And I hope I didn't offend anyone with my post. It wasn't my intention, I'm just saying how I feel...

 

Eh, each to their own.

Personally I wouldn't want to do that. Where's the fun in it? No customization, just...someone elses design on your expensive, gorgeous doll.

Halloween costumes are another thing. Buy your boy a long silver wig and black cloak to be Sephiroth, okay, that's fun! But I wouldn't want to have a doll solely based on one character.

But just for fun, I do plan to have my Cecilia dress up as Aeris/Aerith Gainsborough this halloween.

 

Some people are really attached to characters that already exist. Perhaps, even going as far as being influenced by the fictional beings as individuals. Therefore, it has the potential to be very meaningful.

 

I personally prefer to make my own characters out of my dolls, Guess I've been doing that for such a long time now. However if somebody wants to make a game character more power to them. I may have done so as well if I was into the hobby when I was in my younger years. But I guess it's really just a matter of personal preference.

 

I own a Cloud Strife and Zack Fair minimee, but I don't see it as being less personal. I don't dress them in their SOLDIER clothes, I like to dress them in stuff that guys would wear now, so it's kinda like they are from our world rather than an alternative universe. They are not my characters though so I will admit that I don't look at them in the same way as my other dolls. For example, I don't include them in photostories and I don't really take pictures of them with my other dolls unless I bring them to a dolly meet or anything like that. They are in a little click of their own, lol. But still, I don't see owning them as being less personal because I'm not really one to sit and create biographies for my dolls, and none of them are pre-existing characters I've created beforehand. I make them up as I go along

I also have a Riku (Kingdom Hearts) minimee, but I don't have him as Riku. He's a blonde called Nozomi now. As much as I adore him and wouldn't part with him, I think he feels the least personal of all of my dolls because he is a hybrid of a pre-existing character and one I created using his face. It feels kinda wierd sometimes!

 

I don't think it would feel personal if I had a character doll, there are very few characters that I've been consistently enamoured of to warrant having a doll version of them. I tend to stick with official canon and I can't stand anything out of character, so if I was to make a character doll I would be restricting myself quite a bit. There is also the worry that if the character's canon moves away from what I liked in the first place, I'd be stuck with a doll of a character I no longer like.

It would be more meaningful and personal for me to make a doll of a historical person I admire rather than a character who can be changed at the will of the character's designer or writer.

 

Well..it would probably be less personal, but I don't think it will affect the owner. In some cases, maybe she'll love the doll even more? Especially if she's a big fan of the character.

 

I think so--with respect to my relationship with a hypothetical character doll. But there are probably some people who feel differently about other peoples' characters, like really intense fanfiction people. Whatever makes those people happy, I guess.

 

For me this hobby is pretty much all about creating characters... so I'm OC all the way. Not that I begrudge anyone their fan-dolls. What I really like is when someone takes a fan doll and turns it into their own character, such as the MnM hybrids like Army-of-me's Nozomi up there. A familiar face can be reassuring and thus unlock all sorts of great ideas you never knew you had when it comes to characterization.

I just cosplay instead of make fan-dolls. So don't worry, I know all about characters being important to you and wanting to more fully express that importance.

 

No!!! I think the person likes that person/character enough to make it into a doll still keeps it very personal, and any amount of effort that goes through a doll is still very personal! The fact that it's a pre-existing character is just.... less creative? (not meant to be offensive)

 

Yes, this topic's come up a zillion times before, and no, it's not even CLOSE to "less personal". There are some character-dolls & fan-dolls on this forum that absolutely blow ordinary dolls out of the water in concept, execution, & originality. Pretty much anybody can scrawl black lines around the eyes of a Minifee, throw in some oversized hairclips, and call it My Unique Character... not everybody can nail down every single little detail of Kenshin's or Reno's or the Joker's hair, expression, makeup, accessories, scar(s), outfit, weapons, etc. etc. That kind of thing takes a lot of personal effort & inspiration. Each owner makes a doll into a personal thing, whether or not it's a fan-doll or an OC.

If you want to make a Ciel doll, because Ciel is the character you're really into at the moment, then go for it. It brings you closer to the character you like-- what could be more 'personal' than that?

I myself do not indulge in permanent fandolls, but only because I'm indecisive. I prefer to let the boys cosplay temporarily, when they do bother at all. But I admire hell out of people who can/do make the commitment.

 

Eh... I've had a resin version of my favorite manga character for a couple of years now (D, from Petshop of Horrors), and I can't say that I've found him any less "mine" than the rest of this bunch.

I tend to think of him sort-of as the character seen through my own lens, if that makes any sense... Similar to what the original's creator intended, but maybe not identical.

 

For me... generally a character created by someone else is less personal to me. I feel constricted by the restraints of matching the character. There's less leeway to change your mind or add odd extra quirks. However, I do have one "fan doll"... But the only way I could make it work for me was to only loosely base her on the character. She's an older version of the character, and I've kind of gone my own direction with her.

Though I do agree that it's an individual choice, and I don't have anything against other "fan dolls". It's just that I seem to have more fun coming up with original characters, most of the time.

 

I think it really depends on the doll. I know, sounds odd, but if the doll just calls out as a character, then I might name after the character and start off with similar outfits. Now whether or not certain characteristics would stay the same-only time would tell.
Then again, I have roleplayed with certain characters and they did end up morphing into something more of my own. Maybe I just like to start off with a visual base and go from there

 

I guess in the sense that the doll isn't your own character it could be less personal, but if someone puts a lot of effort into customising the doll into a character with a distinctive and/or complex design then that's personal in its own way.

 

I don't think you could consider it less personal at all, By spending time to re-create a pre-existant character It shows you obviously have some sort of personal connection and feelings with that character. You may have not created the character's design on your own, but that character must have done something pretty great to influence you to want to re-create it for yourself.
If this character means something special to you, than you can't say that it is not personal at all.
So in the end you can't really say it's not, if you know what i'm getting at c:

 

Totally !! its a way to take a character you liked and add more find out more and explore the character. I think its a great way to approach the creating of a character I have even combined two anime characters I always liked into one!

 

I would not bother doing a doll of a third party's character unless it really interested me, like Witch Hunter Robin, and that would be for the modelling and clothes-making possibilities. I would probably sell her once I had created her.

As for my own characters, I do not know as yet if I ever would do a doll of an old RPG Character of mine. Most have been put into retirement a long time ago...

But if I had a doll that said "RPG Character" at me I might do it the other way around and make an RPG Character out of the doll...

Phil.